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Defense OneDec 24, 2022
9 Dead After Two US Military Helicopters Crash in Kentucky
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Image copyright: EPA [via The Guardian]
The Facts
On Thursday, US officials announced that nine unnamed Army soldiers based at Fort Campbell in the 101st Airborne Division were killed when two helicopters crashed Wednesday night. Brig. Gen. John Lubas said there were five and four people in each of the helicopters, which he described as "fairly typical."
The crash occurred during a routine training mission involving US army HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in Trigg county, Ky., just 60 miles north of Nashville, Tennessee.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Most people likely don't know, but since 2010 there have been thousands of military accidents on American soil, several of which were fatal. These often occur due to very avoidable mistakes, such as inadequate equipment inspections and poor training and supervision of troops. The families of these soldiers understand the risks their sons and daughters take in combat, but needless deaths while training within American borders are particularly tragic.
Pro-establishment narrative
Despite periodic news cycles on the matter, military training deaths have always, unfortunately, been an inevitable reality of war preparation. Even as the government spends more on new equipment and training, tragedies do occur in this dangerous field. Working to prevent any deaths is obviously a continuing goal of the government, but aircraft crashes don't mean the military is ill-equipped or underprepared.
